Sereno: Quo warranto petition has no basis

By JP LOPEZ

March 09, 2018

CHIEF Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno yesterday accused her critics of employing “lies and bullying” by resorting to a different forum other than the impeachment process in their bid to oust her from her post.

Sereno also argued the quo warranto petition filed by the government had no basis, effectively courting possible contempt for violating the sub judice rule.

“Indeed, I look at any forum to try me other than the constitutionally-exclusive forum of impeachment as an admission by the complainant and my other detractors that after 15 hearings, they have failed to come up with any evidence with which I can be convicted in the Senate,” Sereno told fellow judges and lawyers at the annual convention of the Philippine Women Judges Association at the Manila Hotel.

Sereno has taken an indefinite leave to prepare her defense in the looming Senate impeachment trial.

Solicitor General Jose Calida, in his petition filed with the SC last Monday, said Sereno’s appointment should be nullified for her failure, among others, to complete the requirements for her application as SC chief.

But Sereno’s camp described the petition as another short-cut to oust her, saying the only remedy to remove an impeachable official is through an impeachment process.

“All kinds of lies, threats, harassment and bullying have been thrown my way. But I will not yield,” Sereno said.

The chief magistrate, clearly in a fighting mood, vowed not to surrender.

“I am fighting for our future as a freedom-loving nation; I am fighting for our honor as apostles of the Rule of Law. And because it is a fight that is worthy of all that I have, I will not throw in the towel; after all, my day is still to come at the Senate impeachment court,” she said.

Sereno’s speech, while applauded by many, did not sit well with her peers who were also present, among them Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro.

De Castro, the president of PWJA, stood at the podium and reminded Sereno of the sub-judice rule, which prohibits members of the court as well as lawyers from discussing merits of a pending case before any public venue.

“I’m sorry that the chief justice has taken this opportunity to discuss a matter that is sub-judice. We have given her all the courtesy and I sincerely hope that she should not have dealt with a matter that is pending with the court,” Leonard-De Castro said.

Sereno also said that her fight “is a fight for judicial independence, for the right of every member of the Court to confront her accuser face to face in a trial type proceeding.

“And I ask you to look at our fellowship and where it has brought us. I ask that we dispel all thoughts and impulses of malice and ill will for they serve no good purpose and bring nothing but shame,” Sereno added.

Column of the Day

‘As an agency of the UN, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is expected to fulfill its duties within the framework set out by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.’ – Chinese spokesman Lu Kang.

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